Washington and Lee’s transition from theme housing to community housing will not create new senior housing options, said Chris Reid, assistant director of housing and residence life.
Despite questions from students about whether the newly designated community housing spaces could be used for seniors, Reid said seniors will continue to select on-campus housing on the final day of registration because of the university’s residency requirement.
The clarification comes as students look for answers about whether recent housing changes could signal broader adjustments to the university’s housing system.
The current housing policy requires all first-year students to live in on-campus housing in one of two residence halls. Second- and third-year students must live in university housing, which may take the form of various locations. Seniors are currently the only group of students not required to live in university housing.
The university saves a limited number of rooms for seniors who opt to remain on campus, according to the university’s website.
Students have mixed opinions about the current housing structure for seniors. Devlin Daugherty, ’26, a community assistant who has worked closely with the Residence Life office, said he believes that the current senior housing system is highly effective.
“It is supportive of students who want to remain on campus but also allows students to get the opportunity to experience renting from a landlord before doing so in the real world,” Daugherty said.
But for members of Greek life living in off-campus houses, planning for senior housing often begins once they are given a bid.
Mirto Beligianni, ’29, an international student, said she faced many challenges when figuring out her housing plans for senior year, a process that began a few weeks after sorority bid day.
Beligianni experienced difficulties transferring the funds needed for her down payment internationally. She said finding senior housing felt overwhelming and daunting.
“It made me question what living so far off campus will actually look like. As an international student without a car, my parents and I wonder if living on campus would be better,” Beligianni said.
Following the announcement of the theme housing changes, many members of the student body are beginning to question what else the university has in store for housing proposals and whether specific policy adjustments regarding senior housing are likely to be a focus.
The university’s master plan, which outlines a decade-long plan for infrastructure developments at Washington and Lee, features a goal to “provide additional housing on campus” for seniors. Students are curious whether this initiative will be the administration’s next focus.
But a target date for expanding housing has not been announced.
“I’m aware of early discussions to build additional bed spaces for all on-campus, upper-division students, including those seniors who would prefer to reside on campus,” Reid said in a statement to the Phi. “The actual approval and timeline for additional housing is unknown at this time.”
